Stuart Hall has died. And because of the great importance of his work, it seems necessary to at least mention him in our weekly linklist. In his obituary and tribute to Stuart Hall, Jeremy Gilbert reflects Halls achievements, as well as noting that the jamaican-born british theorist saw great importance in digital commons and open democracy. As Laurie Taylor, sociologist, broadcaster and Times Higher Education columnist says: “He was a committed and influential public intellectual of the New Left, who embodied the spirit of what the OU [Open University] has always stood for: openness, accessibility, a champion for social justice and of the power of education to bring positive change in peoples’ lives.” Read Jeremy Gilberts tribute here.

And as if to underline that there is still a long way to go, Turkey has passed a new law that, according to experts will only increase internet surveillance and enable the government to track down cyber dissidents more easily. Furthermore, it is believed that the turkish internet will increasingly become a channel for the government to channel knowledge, the exact opposite of the once envisioned never-ending open access paradise it was once envisioned as. Read on in the OpenDemocracy report.

A positive outlook is offered by Mark Carrigan who reports on the Participation Now project, “a new resource for exploring development and innovation in public participation initiatives.” Participation Now is collaborating with the OpenUniversity and OpenDemocracy. Carrigan has written a short summary of all your need-to-knows here.